


when albion's need is greatest

by ruminator



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Ambiguous/Open Ending, Canon Compliant, Could be seen as either, Gen, M/M, Poetry, Post-Episode: s05e13 The Diamond of the Day, Sad Ending, not that kind unfortunately :(, the merthur can be seen as either platonic or romantic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-10
Updated: 2020-12-10
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:42:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 333
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27959342
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ruminator/pseuds/ruminator
Summary: "Take heart, for when Albion's need is greatest, Arthur will rise again"or merlin reflects on kilgarrah's last words to him
Relationships: Implied Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Kudos: 5





	when albion's need is greatest

**Author's Note:**

> fun fact: this is actually a poem i wrote for my creative writing class ! i ended up being really proud of it, so i figured, "why not post it on here?" plus it's been over a year since i finished merlin for the first time and i'm still not over the final episode please they both deserved so much better :((

“When Albion’s need is greatest.”  
That’s what that blasted dragon said to me  
All those centuries ago when I held you close to my chest.  
Your cold chainmail was pressed against my stomach.  
Nowhere near as cold as your hands, however.  
Your hands, once filled with warmth, that now lay limp and loose,  
Devoid of any of the life that once resided within.  
I held you firmly in my grasp, squeezing one of your limp hands  
Desperately hoping that I would get a squeeze back.  
But I didn’t.

“When Albion’s need is greatest.”  
I should’ve given up as soon as Albion fell.  
Albion, should I even call it Albion if it no longer exists?  
Everyone that had been a part of Albion,  
Leon, Percival, Gaius, Gwen, all of them now nothing but ash.  
The kingdoms we had fought so hard to unite, all fallen dynasties of centuries’ past.  
Albion is but a relic of the past now, only existing  
In what the children of today call “fairy tales.”  
I should’ve given up then, as soon as I heard that your name,  
Your title, everything that you have fought so hard to obtain  
Has now been reduced to nothing but a fictional tale.  
But I didn’t.

“When Albion’s need is greatest.”  
So when will that be, huh?  
It’s been over a thousand years.  
A thousand years since I had to send you into that lake  
With the smallest sense of hope that one day- _one day_ -you would return.  
Even with the fall of Albion, I still chose to wait for you,  
Hoping that I wouldn’t have to deal with the rest of my existence alone.  
Hope. It seemed so much easier to have back then.  
Now I sit by the lake where I last saw you, my hope fleeting  
As I stare out straight ahead into the sunset,  
Praying that you will heed my call and come back to me.  
But I know you won’t.

But hey, a warlock can dream, can’t he?

**Author's Note:**

> take care of yourselves <3


End file.
